When I installed my drop spindles I marked my camber bolts so I could put them back where they were, the spindles have another 1/4 degree of neg camber machined into them. I noticed once installed that it was toed out, my previous settings were 1/2 degree of neg camber which was recommended by the alignment shop, the car drove fantastic. I drove my car after the spindle install for the summer and I was surprised how the toe out affected the handling of the car, certain types of road conditions caused the car to wander or the steering wheel would be jerked back & forth like a bump steer issue.

So putting your alignment back where it should be is worth the money, unless you want a low car that handles like crap.

 

They why wasn't it done during the C5 design: I know ET is no longer on the forum but I would like him or someone to explain why it was not done in the design.

 

Because the manufacturers are required to produce cars that look swoopy, yet still meet minimum bumper heights. SO, the styling department designs a swoopy car, but the mechanical engineers "jack it up a little" to meet this height. Then, we "enthusiasts" bring it back down to where the stylists intended it to be...........

 

and speed bumps, pot holes, etc.

 

Long answer short is because you're changing the suspension geometry.

 

The cars were set high for shipping purposes, they were supposed to be lowered at the dealer, but many were not. Not slammed, but just not jacked up as high as possible. They made these height adjustable for a reason. The C4's were only adjustable on the rear spring.

 

Well, actually you should have spent some time looking for lowering threads on the DIY sticky in the C5 tech forum. Longer than stock rear lowering bolts are a waste since you end up with essentially no rear suspension travel and the car will handle like crap. The problem is that the rear suspension doesn't have much travel anyway and when you lower it as you have done you are essentially on the bump stops of the rear shocks. The suspension was designed to be lowered about 3/4 of an inch and lowering it beyond that results in poor geometry as well as horrible ride because of the lack of travel. When lowered the recommended 3/4 of an inch to an inch the geometry is optimized for best handling and if you take your car to a professional setup shop like Phoenix performance they will lower it that amount. More than that results in poorer handling.

Here is a link to a thread on the proper way to lower your car..

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1576940245-post92.html

As noted in the referenced thread you want about 1/2 an inch of rake between the front and rear. Without the proper rake air pressure builds up under the car and at speeds of 80mph and above it can effect handling. Note that the proper place to measure is the frame at the so called J and K dimensions and not the wheel wells. Some cars are relatively accurate when measured at the wheel wells and others are not. There are variations in fender lip height between cars and sometimes between one side of a car and the other.

 

That's knowledge that solofast gave me. Years ago

 

Yes and no. The factory put spacers in the springs that were to be taken out by the dealers. Sadly, not all the dealers did this and some C5 owners were driving around with the spacers still installed. Made for a rough ride.

 

Lets see some after pics when you lower it. My silver Z looks just like yours and I'm debating on lowering it with the stock bolts too.

 

ive not only lowered but pretty much slammed both my C5's and never got an alignment, I didn't notice any abnormal tire wear or handling issues

On the z06 VHS tape that comes witht he car when you prucahse it the engineers tell you how to lower the car before going to the track, and they never once mention getting an alignment done

So , according to the engineers and creators of the corvette , an alignment is not necessary when lowering the car on stock bolts

 

That is interesting. My car didn't come with the VHS tape (bought it used), but I'd like to check that out.

 

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ew+owners+tape

 

I never heard this before, but if that's indeed true, it explains why my car looked like a 4x4 when I picked it up.....

 

Like This

 

The front end of mine was like that, but the rear wasn't quite as high....

 

Coming from a guy that runs his own alignment/suspension shop, you will need to get an alignment. When you lower the car, the camber will go more negative and toe will go more outward. This will rear up the onboard sides of the tires and the car will be darty. Mean any turn of the wheel it will want to immediately go that direction.

Signed - the alignment guy

 

I did watch the owners video, and they state you can lower the car about 0.5 inches. They did not mention an alignment, but I want to preserve my expensive tires.

 

Honest questions since I'm not an alignment guy. My car hasn't been aligned in the 7 1/2 years I've owned it and I doubt it was aligned in the 6 years the previous owner owned it. How likely is it that my car is out of alignment? And would it likely be way out or just a little? Same question about the OP's car. His car was aligned 4 or 5 months ago. Would it still most likely be perfect?

Last question, how does lowering it affect it? Obviously the geometry changes, but by how much? Is there a limit you can go without an alignment? If I dropped my car by an inch, it wouldn't be perfectly aligned, but then I'm guessing it's not perfect right now.

Not bs'ing or arguing. Honest questions.